Turkey, UK, France, Germany say attacks on civilians in Syria must end

Duvar English

All attacks against Syrian civilians, including in the rebel-held area of Idlib, must end, the leaders of Turkey, Britain, France, Germany agreed on Dec. 3 ahead of a NATO summit in London.

"The leaders said they would work to create the conditions for the safe, voluntary and sustainable return of refugees and that the fight must be continued against terrorism in all its forms," U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said in a statement.

Johnson, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Angela Merkel also said they supported U.N. Libya envoy, Ghassan Salame, in efforts to move forward with a Libyan-owned political process to end conflict in the country.

The meeting of the four leaders took place at 10 Downing Street, the prime ministerial residence, and lasted about 50 minutes. Afterwards, Erdoğan told reporters that the meeting “went well,” while Merkel said the meeting was “productive and useful.”

Macron on the other hand said, although there are still “uncertainties” regarding Syria, there is a “will to prioritize the fight against ISIS. ” “This is important to me,” Macron said.

Asked about Erdoğan, Macron said: “I had the opportunity to meet him personally. I respect everyone. You didn't hear me disrespecting someone. Everyone takes responsibility. I think that Turkey is a big country. I have deep respect for the Turkish people.”

On the Turkish side, the meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, Turkish Intelligence Chief Hakan Fidan and Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın.